Thanks for the wonderful advice. I'm familiar already with David Bach's approach to retirement and cutting all the junk out of our lives. But it's still one of those things that proves "easier said than done".
When I think about living with less and in a small space I get excited. I think there is something embedded in me that loves change, drastic change. So this article is a great eye-opener about others who have made those changes and followed through.
I was actually moved to send notes to my congressman and both my senators with my thoughts on the bailout. (Something that I often think I ought to do, but hardly ever follow through on.)
All the congressmen and a third of the senators will be running for reelection in just a month and a half. If there's ever a moment at which constituent pressure can make a difference, this is it. Let 'em know what you think.
First I have to say I came from China where many years ago the milk still taste good. About 20 years ago when I first came to the US, the ordinary milk from super market tasted awful! The about $1 a gallon bottle is nowhere near what I've been used to. Maybe because I never had "reduced-fat" milk before.
Second, the moment when I recall what I used to drink is about 8 years ago the first time I picked up a half gallon Horizon milk at about $2.5. It IS the milk taste I've been looking for years. And I've keep buying them ever since. Now of course at about $4.20 each.
Third, the most dangerous park of lying in milk is the "fat" stuff. The "whole" milk is merely 3% of fat, "reduced" is 2% or 1%. How much difference can that make? But the commercial world makes drinking whole milk sounds like sin.
Fourth, we care what "not" in our food these days, not what's in it these days. The original author somehow mistakenly state the milk was treated with anti-biotic and pesticide, um, why? Even USDA may say they didn't check out any pesticide in other milk, it doesn't mean what's used to be pesticide can't exist in another still harmful form! It is as if to say there is never mercury in our body, but we do have silver tooth filler in our mouth!
Fifth, the most productive cows are not necessarily the most hard working ones! That being said, the fact to know is the most milk productive countries are India, China and US, but the most productive cow is in Israel (said by their government pages). The production is almost double the US' while US' cows produce 1.5X of European's and maybe 2x or more to India and Chinese. So ...
Paul, its a good thing you've done here. Don't let the close-minded spoil it for you. I'm very liberal but I'm also smart enough to use a disposable email addy and a po box for such things. LOL if they want to pay postage, let them! I full intend on making good use of the pocket sized versions and not going to fuss about the who/what/why of it. Just take them for what they're worth for heavens sake. Geez people.
In fact, quite the opposite, I am very left-wing. But if a right-wing organization wants to spend their money educating us on this important document, isn't that a good thing? It's not a right-wing spin on it, it's simply a pocket-sized reprint of the document. If you know of another place to get a free copy of the Constitution, with free shipping, let me know. I think it's a little silly to dump a whole blog based on one article that was not trying to push any agenda. But, it's your call.
There are so many places you can get a free copy of both these documents. Why get it from an ultra-conservative right wing group like the Heritage Foundation? A group that has supported Bush/Cheney in every thing they do and claim that Democrats hate America? They are a diseased group of people, I wouldn't be surprised if they edit out all the sections on civil liberties, process of going to war, and due process but bold the second amendment on the right to bear arms (though edit out the part that says its in order to keep a well regulated militia). Why on earth would you want to be on their mailing list? Expect a lot of right-wing propaganda junk mail.
I didn't realize you'd be pushing right-wing propaganda on this site, I am done with it and it is off my RSS feed.
One of my favourite appliances is a George Foreman grill I got a couple of years ago on sale for $20. While I do use it to cook meat (like fresh fish, homemade chicken fingers, and the occasional hamburger), it gets more use with hot sandwiches and veggies. I'll slice up some red peppers and zucchini to roast, or use it as a sandwich press to make grilled cheese or other hot sandwiches.
I think my next investment will be a slow cooker :)
For me, the dutch oven is indispensable. I use it to make no-knead bread, which accounts for about 90% of the bread we eat. The no-knead bread is vastly superior to anything that comes out of a bread machine. And dutch ovens are also great for slow cooking stews and tagines. I have two of them so that I can make two loaves of no-knead bread every time I fire up the oven. No-knead bread doesn't take much more time, effort, or skill than using a bread machine, so I'm pretty strongly devoted to the method. Check out breadtopia.com for excellent written instructions and video.
Is there any thing that we can do to stop this? I mean, not the bailouts that have already happened, because they are done deals. But is there any way that we can put a stop to this abuse of power (in my opinion)?
It seems strange that they cannot even answer simple questions about this situation, yet they expect us to "get behind them."
I know that I can control the decisions that I make, but I just wish that this was put to a vote or something.
It is appropriate to be furious at the financial situation today.
The U.S. had a financial system that worked pretty well from the mid-1930s through the 1970s. Beginning with the Reagan administration and continuing to today, and unfortunately not excluding the Clinton administration when the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Services Modernization Act (remember Wonderful Phil Gramm?)was enacted. This repeal of Glass-Seagal allowed commercial banks to become stock brokers and insurers, allowing the birth of such monstrosities as the AIG of the past eight years or so.
Gramm-Leach-Bliley was just about the final dismantlement of the well wrought regulations that remedied the financial abuses that were a major cause of the Great Depression.
We now have a government that has managed to reinvent the Great Depression.
The remedy it is proposing is similar to its remedy for 9-11. Just as 9-11 was used as an excuse to throw away inconvenient parts of the Constitution and give power to the executive branch, this crisis is being used to concentrate all power in the executive branch bureaucrats. We are told by Treasury Secretary Paulson and his ilk that there is a chance we can be saved if we let him and a few cronies do anything they want with tax-payer money. But they're the same guys who were cooking up the disastrous schemes in their day jobs at the big financial institutions only a couple of years ago.
They might well buy Philip's old clothes. Is it more ridiculous than some of their other ideas?
If we have $700 billion to throw at problems, let's throw it at education, health care, and road repair. That might actually help the country.
Easystockalerts can provide you with the most updated news on the stocks that you are interested in. You can make more money in the stock market by keeping yourself updated on the stocks and getting the information via emails and RSS feeds. Get to make more money by knowing the news at its best and Sigh up at easystockalerts.com
That's awesome. I love the Make-A-Wish foundation. Some close friends of mine had a daughter diagnosed with cancer. They didn't expect her to live and Make-A-Wish came and built her a tree fort type of thing. It was awesome. Years later, she ended up barely surviving the cancer and is a healthy young lady now.
Anytime I can find the opportunity, I try to donate to them. I have the Bank of America Make-A-Wish Debit Card. I've bought Make-A-Wish cards for a particular card game I used to play. They are a great organization.
This is definitely about to come in handy for us, Linsey.
When we left Arizona, we got rid of our hold queen matress and kept only the full size mattress and frame for the guest room, and the twin mattress for the daybed we wanted to buy when we got to the new place.
And of course, the queen bed we had at the lake house got toasted in the flood. With everything we have been through, we are thinking of going ahead and splurging on a king when we find a place.
That being said, we are definitely going to pinch the pennies where we can, looking for sheets on sale, trying out your suggestion of finding ways to skip the box spring, etc.
Most of our tools (but not all) are in the military storage shipment that's still in Arizona, so I don't know that building a bed frame will be in the cards. But . . . I'm going to check out the mattress company you recommended and start looking around for king bed frame options, hopefully something with storage underneath, since I'm sure we'll end up with at least a slightly smaller home.
I wondered the same thing at first. Here's my breakdown of cost of supplies shopping at the local HyVee. This is standard pricing, not purchasing anything on sale, and not buying in bulk.
The supplies listed are enough to make at least 12-15 loaves (depending on the recipe) and many of the ingredients (like sugar and butter) will have plenty left over.
Flour (bread variety) $2.50 for 5 lbs x 3 = $7.50
Powdered milk $5.50 for the smallest package
Butter $2.50 for 1/2 pound
Sugar $1.00 for a small bag
Yeast $5 for the 4 oz package
I didn't factor in for salt or water... practically free.
Using a basic white bread recipe, you can make between 12 and 15 loaves (depending on whether you set your machine to 1.5 or 2 pounds.)
Total initial supplies cost: $21.50 plus a breadmaker
Assuming you don't buy in bulk, get anything on sale, or have any supplies already on hand, you are looking at between $1.43 and $1.75 per loaf, plus cost of time (5 minutes) and electrical energy to run the machine.
Since bread at our only small store here in town sells the cheap crap for at least $2.40 a loaf, and the really good stuff for almost $3.89, this is an excellent deal!
Plus your home is filled with lovely smells of fresh-baked bread. You can toast it, scoop it out for homemade soup bowls, grill it, broil it, and anything else you would want to do with a hearty, thick bread (grilled cheese rocks!)
And getting the "Homemaker of the Year Award" while trying to pursue my freelancing career without zero effort on my part = PRICELESS!
the Bush quote? Well, it was reported in more than just one place. I linked to the most non-partisan site I could find. As I repeated several times in the article, this is not about supporting a party. This is about knowing the content of this crucial U.S. document. But, I'll remove it in the interests of keeping this article focused on the main point...knowing the Constitution. And I really don't care who is giving it away, I'll take a copy thanks.
My son is currently battling an inoperable brain tumor. Make-a-Wish is allowing him to get his wish at the end of October, when we are going to Walt Disney World. The opportunity to go for a week and be completely carefree, to forget about his condition (as much as we can) and not think about medical bills is priceless.
Please, take a moment and buy a paper wish star. Also, I'd like to put a plug in for Perkins. They are raising support for Give Kids the World, a village where Make-a-Wish families stay while they are in Florida.
The Heritage Foundation is a conservative think tank. I don't want my name on their mailing list. I'll be fine Googling the Constitution and printing it out on my own.
This post reminds me of a co-worker, who is probably traveling in some far-off country right now. He once told me that in order to save for traveling the world, He and his girlfriend never went to a movie or went out to eat in 5 years.
I love reading your posts. Thanks for including the link to the breadmachine at buy.com. I have wanted one for years, and with free shipping I got it for $39 total today. Unfortunately we do not have a goodwill or discount store nearby, so this was a good deal for me.
A Sordid Lawsuit Shakes the Satmar Chasidic world .
Brooklyn N.Y. Lezer ( Louis ) Kestenbaum chairman of the ODA in Williamsburg Brooklyn NY resigned from the ODA soon after settling a lawsuit filed in May 2008 in U.S. District Court for the District of Florida for an undisclosed sum alleging he had a sexual relationship with a minor, Joel Kestnbaum the son of Louis kestenbaum will become chairman of the ODA.
Nora,
Thanks for the wonderful advice. I'm familiar already with David Bach's approach to retirement and cutting all the junk out of our lives. But it's still one of those things that proves "easier said than done".
When I think about living with less and in a small space I get excited. I think there is something embedded in me that loves change, drastic change. So this article is a great eye-opener about others who have made those changes and followed through.
Thanks.
I was actually moved to send notes to my congressman and both my senators with my thoughts on the bailout. (Something that I often think I ought to do, but hardly ever follow through on.)
All the congressmen and a third of the senators will be running for reelection in just a month and a half. If there's ever a moment at which constituent pressure can make a difference, this is it. Let 'em know what you think.
First I have to say I came from China where many years ago the milk still taste good. About 20 years ago when I first came to the US, the ordinary milk from super market tasted awful! The about $1 a gallon bottle is nowhere near what I've been used to. Maybe because I never had "reduced-fat" milk before.
Second, the moment when I recall what I used to drink is about 8 years ago the first time I picked up a half gallon Horizon milk at about $2.5. It IS the milk taste I've been looking for years. And I've keep buying them ever since. Now of course at about $4.20 each.
Third, the most dangerous park of lying in milk is the "fat" stuff. The "whole" milk is merely 3% of fat, "reduced" is 2% or 1%. How much difference can that make? But the commercial world makes drinking whole milk sounds like sin.
Fourth, we care what "not" in our food these days, not what's in it these days. The original author somehow mistakenly state the milk was treated with anti-biotic and pesticide, um, why? Even USDA may say they didn't check out any pesticide in other milk, it doesn't mean what's used to be pesticide can't exist in another still harmful form! It is as if to say there is never mercury in our body, but we do have silver tooth filler in our mouth!
Fifth, the most productive cows are not necessarily the most hard working ones! That being said, the fact to know is the most milk productive countries are India, China and US, but the most productive cow is in Israel (said by their government pages). The production is almost double the US' while US' cows produce 1.5X of European's and maybe 2x or more to India and Chinese. So ...
Paul, its a good thing you've done here. Don't let the close-minded spoil it for you. I'm very liberal but I'm also smart enough to use a disposable email addy and a po box for such things. LOL if they want to pay postage, let them! I full intend on making good use of the pocket sized versions and not going to fuss about the who/what/why of it. Just take them for what they're worth for heavens sake. Geez people.
In fact, quite the opposite, I am very left-wing. But if a right-wing organization wants to spend their money educating us on this important document, isn't that a good thing? It's not a right-wing spin on it, it's simply a pocket-sized reprint of the document. If you know of another place to get a free copy of the Constitution, with free shipping, let me know. I think it's a little silly to dump a whole blog based on one article that was not trying to push any agenda. But, it's your call.
There are so many places you can get a free copy of both these documents. Why get it from an ultra-conservative right wing group like the Heritage Foundation? A group that has supported Bush/Cheney in every thing they do and claim that Democrats hate America? They are a diseased group of people, I wouldn't be surprised if they edit out all the sections on civil liberties, process of going to war, and due process but bold the second amendment on the right to bear arms (though edit out the part that says its in order to keep a well regulated militia). Why on earth would you want to be on their mailing list? Expect a lot of right-wing propaganda junk mail.
I didn't realize you'd be pushing right-wing propaganda on this site, I am done with it and it is off my RSS feed.
Love the suggestions! (and the comments too!)
One of my favourite appliances is a George Foreman grill I got a couple of years ago on sale for $20. While I do use it to cook meat (like fresh fish, homemade chicken fingers, and the occasional hamburger), it gets more use with hot sandwiches and veggies. I'll slice up some red peppers and zucchini to roast, or use it as a sandwich press to make grilled cheese or other hot sandwiches.
I think my next investment will be a slow cooker :)
I'm shocked no one mentioned a microwave. Is it taken for granted that everyone has one, or is it not as popular as I always thought it was?
For me, the dutch oven is indispensable. I use it to make no-knead bread, which accounts for about 90% of the bread we eat. The no-knead bread is vastly superior to anything that comes out of a bread machine. And dutch ovens are also great for slow cooking stews and tagines. I have two of them so that I can make two loaves of no-knead bread every time I fire up the oven. No-knead bread doesn't take much more time, effort, or skill than using a bread machine, so I'm pretty strongly devoted to the method. Check out breadtopia.com for excellent written instructions and video.
I have one more question:
Is there any thing that we can do to stop this? I mean, not the bailouts that have already happened, because they are done deals. But is there any way that we can put a stop to this abuse of power (in my opinion)?
It seems strange that they cannot even answer simple questions about this situation, yet they expect us to "get behind them."
I know that I can control the decisions that I make, but I just wish that this was put to a vote or something.
I guess wish in one hand...
It is appropriate to be furious at the financial situation today.
The U.S. had a financial system that worked pretty well from the mid-1930s through the 1970s. Beginning with the Reagan administration and continuing to today, and unfortunately not excluding the Clinton administration when the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Services Modernization Act (remember Wonderful Phil Gramm?)was enacted. This repeal of Glass-Seagal allowed commercial banks to become stock brokers and insurers, allowing the birth of such monstrosities as the AIG of the past eight years or so.
Gramm-Leach-Bliley was just about the final dismantlement of the well wrought regulations that remedied the financial abuses that were a major cause of the Great Depression.
We now have a government that has managed to reinvent the Great Depression.
The remedy it is proposing is similar to its remedy for 9-11. Just as 9-11 was used as an excuse to throw away inconvenient parts of the Constitution and give power to the executive branch, this crisis is being used to concentrate all power in the executive branch bureaucrats. We are told by Treasury Secretary Paulson and his ilk that there is a chance we can be saved if we let him and a few cronies do anything they want with tax-payer money. But they're the same guys who were cooking up the disastrous schemes in their day jobs at the big financial institutions only a couple of years ago.
They might well buy Philip's old clothes. Is it more ridiculous than some of their other ideas?
If we have $700 billion to throw at problems, let's throw it at education, health care, and road repair. That might actually help the country.
Easystockalerts can provide you with the most updated news on the stocks that you are interested in. You can make more money in the stock market by keeping yourself updated on the stocks and getting the information via emails and RSS feeds. Get to make more money by knowing the news at its best and Sigh up at easystockalerts.com
Has a free app of the Constitution - works great.
That's awesome. I love the Make-A-Wish foundation. Some close friends of mine had a daughter diagnosed with cancer. They didn't expect her to live and Make-A-Wish came and built her a tree fort type of thing. It was awesome. Years later, she ended up barely surviving the cancer and is a healthy young lady now.
Anytime I can find the opportunity, I try to donate to them. I have the Bank of America Make-A-Wish Debit Card. I've bought Make-A-Wish cards for a particular card game I used to play. They are a great organization.
This is definitely about to come in handy for us, Linsey.
When we left Arizona, we got rid of our hold queen matress and kept only the full size mattress and frame for the guest room, and the twin mattress for the daybed we wanted to buy when we got to the new place.
And of course, the queen bed we had at the lake house got toasted in the flood. With everything we have been through, we are thinking of going ahead and splurging on a king when we find a place.
That being said, we are definitely going to pinch the pennies where we can, looking for sheets on sale, trying out your suggestion of finding ways to skip the box spring, etc.
Most of our tools (but not all) are in the military storage shipment that's still in Arizona, so I don't know that building a bed frame will be in the cards. But . . . I'm going to check out the mattress company you recommended and start looking around for king bed frame options, hopefully something with storage underneath, since I'm sure we'll end up with at least a slightly smaller home.
Thank you for sharing your story and reminding all of us how little it takes to make a big impression on a child's life! May your trip be blessed!
Linsey Knerl
I wondered the same thing at first. Here's my breakdown of cost of supplies shopping at the local HyVee. This is standard pricing, not purchasing anything on sale, and not buying in bulk.
The supplies listed are enough to make at least 12-15 loaves (depending on the recipe) and many of the ingredients (like sugar and butter) will have plenty left over.
Flour (bread variety) $2.50 for 5 lbs x 3 = $7.50
Powdered milk $5.50 for the smallest package
Butter $2.50 for 1/2 pound
Sugar $1.00 for a small bag
Yeast $5 for the 4 oz package
I didn't factor in for salt or water... practically free.
Using a basic white bread recipe, you can make between 12 and 15 loaves (depending on whether you set your machine to 1.5 or 2 pounds.)
Total initial supplies cost: $21.50 plus a breadmaker
Assuming you don't buy in bulk, get anything on sale, or have any supplies already on hand, you are looking at between $1.43 and $1.75 per loaf, plus cost of time (5 minutes) and electrical energy to run the machine.
Since bread at our only small store here in town sells the cheap crap for at least $2.40 a loaf, and the really good stuff for almost $3.89, this is an excellent deal!
Plus your home is filled with lovely smells of fresh-baked bread. You can toast it, scoop it out for homemade soup bowls, grill it, broil it, and anything else you would want to do with a hearty, thick bread (grilled cheese rocks!)
And getting the "Homemaker of the Year Award" while trying to pursue my freelancing career without zero effort on my part = PRICELESS!
Hope this helps.
Linsey
the Bush quote? Well, it was reported in more than just one place. I linked to the most non-partisan site I could find. As I repeated several times in the article, this is not about supporting a party. This is about knowing the content of this crucial U.S. document. But, I'll remove it in the interests of keeping this article focused on the main point...knowing the Constitution. And I really don't care who is giving it away, I'll take a copy thanks.
My son is currently battling an inoperable brain tumor. Make-a-Wish is allowing him to get his wish at the end of October, when we are going to Walt Disney World. The opportunity to go for a week and be completely carefree, to forget about his condition (as much as we can) and not think about medical bills is priceless.
Please, take a moment and buy a paper wish star. Also, I'd like to put a plug in for Perkins. They are raising support for Give Kids the World, a village where Make-a-Wish families stay while they are in Florida.
Thank You!
The Heritage Foundation is a conservative think tank. I don't want my name on their mailing list. I'll be fine Googling the Constitution and printing it out on my own.
You had me at Cold Stone Creamery. But free stuff and a good cause? Count me in!
This post reminds me of a co-worker, who is probably traveling in some far-off country right now. He once told me that in order to save for traveling the world, He and his girlfriend never went to a movie or went out to eat in 5 years.
I thought non-partisan meant unbiased... not "makes up things."
I love reading your posts. Thanks for including the link to the breadmachine at buy.com. I have wanted one for years, and with free shipping I got it for $39 total today. Unfortunately we do not have a goodwill or discount store nearby, so this was a good deal for me.
A Sordid Lawsuit Shakes the Satmar Chasidic world .
Brooklyn N.Y. Lezer ( Louis ) Kestenbaum chairman of the ODA in Williamsburg Brooklyn NY resigned from the ODA soon after settling a lawsuit filed in May 2008 in U.S. District Court for the District of Florida for an undisclosed sum alleging he had a sexual relationship with a minor, Joel Kestnbaum the son of Louis kestenbaum will become chairman of the ODA.